Hall of Famer David Thompson recalls desegregation in high school playing days

The Republican photo by Michael S. GordonHall of Famer David Thompson speaks at Center Court Thursday as part of the shrine's Legends of the Game series.

SPRINGFIELD – David Thompson’s life during and after pro basketball has been well-documented, including an autobiography titled “Skywalker.”

One of the most athletic players to ever step on a basketball court, Thompson had to deal with a lot more than most people can imagine long before leading North Carolina State to a national championship in 1974.

The Hall of Famer spoke at Center Court on Thursday as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Legends of the Game speaker series, which continues Monday with Nate “Tiny” Archibald.

Blessed with amazing athletic ability that included a vertical leap of 44 inches, Thompson said he could already dunk a basketball when he was in eighth grade and all of 5-foot-8.

The next year Thompson would be a high school freshman. If that wasn’t scary enough, he was attending Crest Senior High School in Shelby, N.C., which had just desegregated.

“It was tough because a lot of people down there didn’t really want it but it was forced on them,” Thompson said.

Brown vs. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court ruling of 1954 declared school segregation unconstitutional, but it took more than a decade for many North Carolina school districts to comply.

“The schools were separate but definitely not equal,” Thompson said. “The school I went to the books and stuff were tattered so it was a step up for us to go to a brand new school.

“Still, it took a little while to get used to but for the most part it went pretty smoothly,” he added. “We had some people in key positions that made the transition a little bit easier and I think a lot of times sports is a way to bring people closer together.”

One in particular was basketball coach Ed Peeler, who did not balk at playing and starting African-American athletes.

“Coach treated all of us the same and that’s all you can ask for,” Thompson said. “The first year there was maybe two black players on the team and by my senior year we had five black starters.

“I don’t know if a lot of the fans really liked that down there but my coach played the best players and that was that,” he said. “He withstood the pressure and did what was right. I respect him for that and we’re still good friends today.”

Nicknamed “Skywalker” for his ridiculous jumping ability, Thompson had no such social issues to deal with at N.C. State, but he did have to play under the NCAA’s “Lew Alcindor” rule of no dunking.

“It was very frustrating having a 44-inch vertical leap and be way above the rim and not being able to dunk the ball,” the 6-foot-4 Thompson said.

“Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar, a.k.a. Lew Alcindor) messed it up for everybody. He messed up all my college highlights.”

Still, the Wolfpack was able to end UCLA’s run of seven straight national titles in 1974 with what was called a “circus team.”

“We had the midget, Monte Towe at 5-7, the giant Tom Burleson who was 7-4 and the highwire act, that was me,” Thompson said.

Thompson went on to become a star in the ABA and the NBA, losing a memorable slam dunk competition to Julius Erving along the way.

But alcohol and drug abuse caught up to Thompson and a fateful fall down a flight of stairs at the infamous Studio 54 in New York ended his professional career at the age of 30.

Thompson hit the bottom when he was sentenced to four months in a Seattle prison, but took his first step to recovery with the help of Pastor Doug Murren and has been clean for 23 years.

“Usually I talk to kids about making good life choices,” Thompson said. “I made some good choices in life and I made some bad ones.”